ToolZ to clean your HD with


The following software is reviewed here:
BCWipe , DirSnoop Eraser, Scorch, Window Washer

By now you should know how dirty your Windoze gets. You should never just simply delet files to the "recycle Bin" and think they are gone. Everytime you are on the Net, or use your PC, all that work is left to be seen. Some of the places needing cleaning are: C:\Windows\Recent (for recently open files such as movies, txt, ets-Win95 & 98) C:\WINNT\PROFILES\ADMINI~`\RECENT (for NT) C:\Windows\R C:\Windows\win386.swp (the notorious Swap file), C:\Windows\Temp

BCWipe

is a freeware program that will clean your free space on your HD by writting over it 7 times and wiping it clean. You can get it from jetico.sci.fi They also sell a comercial version of a product to clean your HD. Warning! Turns out files/folders CAN be seen with DirSnoop even AFTER BCWipe is used, so does THAT mean they can also be recovered? Some people have experianced problems with BCWipe, while others swear by it. Seems it's a bit over active and cleans MORE than just your free space and swap files. So use it at your own risk.

DirSnoop

 You can get it from briggsoft.com Yeah, you use Windows Washer, and Eraser and you feel confident enough that the files you erased were gone. Well, that's NOT 100% true and Dir Snoop can prove it to you. Did you also know files leave "ghost" images of themselves even after you move them from one drive to another?
Dir Snoop yes, it works beautifully, and yes, its scary what it can show you. Files I thought were long gone are sitting there, staring me right back in the face.
Grade: 10 as in get it, learn it, use it!

Dir Snoop is a wonderful freeware that can be used to:
  • Verify the effectiveness of file/disk wiping programs
  • Recover erased files
  • Purge erased file names from directory structure
  • Permanently wipe traces of "ghost" files(files that were deleted long ago) and individual clusters with 4-pass wiping function
  • Search, group, and sort files by name, date, cluster, size, and attributes
  • Search and View files and raw clusters, the raw directory structures and file clusters for content
  • View the file allocation table (FAT)
  • Map files and directories to cluster numbers

    Dir Snoop is very easy to use. It has ONLY 4 options on its tools line- File, Current, Global and Help.

    the File option can Purge the remainds of ghost files, can Unerase files, can Wipe files. NOTE: The "ghost" files appear in red.

    the Current

    the Global

    the Help as usual has the help files in case you need instructions


    File Finder it shows hidden, system deleted files on your drives on Hex format. Grade 8 as in good solid utility




    Eraser

     is a little freeware from Students.Tut.Fi or you can d/l the zipped program directly from
    iki.fi. It is ther easiest thing to use, tiny, fast as hell and when i checked back with DirSnoop the files were ACTUALLY gone! It can clean indivigual folders, files, entire dir, and also can clean your Unused disk space just like BCWipe.It has 3 cleaning options- Default which is writing over the data 35(!) times, Easier US Military approved 7 times overwrite option thats the same as BCWipe and Pseudo-Random option where you can specify how many times the data to be written over. Eraser Definetly recommand it!

    Scorch

     NOTE* THE follOwing was taken directly from DrWho's Encription FAQ. Please read the complete faq for more info.
    Scorch is a freeware wipe utility. It is VERY useful for wiping Window'sSWAP FILE. Read the documentation that comes with Scorch before use. There are several other options, which are best gleaned from the included documentation. Scorch is available at: mist.demon.co.uk
    2. Use Notepad to write the following simple Batch file. Save it in C:\Windows. Give the batch file a name. I suggest Wapp16.bat, but any convenient letter or name will suffice, but NOT Win.bat or confusion will occur with the Win.com which starts Windows. (I have suggested Wapp16 as the file name simply to cause a little smoke if anybody were searching through your computer - so many Windows files start with the letter W). The format of enclosing the file to be wiped in square brackets is to minimize disastrous errors.
    Wapp16.bat = Scorch [c:\win386.swp] /nodel Scorch [c:\progra~1\cache\*.*] Scorch [c:\windows\cookies\*.*] Scorch [c:\windows\history\*.*] Scorch [c:\windows\recent\*.*] Scorch [c:\windows\spool\\fax\*.*] Scorch [c:\windows\spool\\printers\*.*] Scorch [c:\windows\temp\*.*] Scorch [c:\windows\tempor~1\*.*] Scorch [c:\windows\web\*.*] Zapempty Win Note 1: Choose whichever of the above folders applies to your system, likewise add any others that are not shown but required.

    Window Washer

     also cleans and "adds bleach" to ALL of these "Standard Wash Items":
  • all the Browsers' caches(BOTH Netscape and IE), History Folders, the Cookies folders, Temporary Internet Files folder,
  • the Temp folder itself,
  • ICQ's history messages folders,
  • the Recicle Bin,
  • Window's Document History, Find and Run folders, ets... Window Washer allows you to easily clean up the history of your activities on your PC and the Internet. It can clean your Netscape and Internet Explorer cache, cookies, form data, and drop-down address list. Window Washer can also remove files and entries in your recent documents history, recent applications history, temporary files folder, and recycle bin. Window Washer also includes a Custom Wash Items feature that allows you to specify other files and folders that you would like to have cleaned. Free Custom Wash Item plug-ins allow you to clean many third party programs such as RealPlayer and Adobe Acrobat. You can set Window Washer to automatically run in the background and clean your files and history as you work, or you can have it clean at start-up or shutdown. In addition, a Bleach function is also available that overwrites deleted files with random characters a set number of times, making them unrecoverable by file recovery utilities. To download the free custom wash item plug-ins, visit http://www.webroot.com/plugin.htm ------------------------------------------------------ New Features in Window Washer 3.0 (aka: Cache & Cookie Washer Deluxe): Cleaning support for Windows 2000 Cleaning support for Internet Explorer 5.1 and 5.5 Cleaning support for Netscape 4.7 Cleaning support for AOL 5.0 and Compuserve Improved bleach function for overwrites of files in FAT, FAT32, and NTFS And many bug fixes and GUI improvements! ------------------------------------------------------ For more information and a free 30 day trial download, visit http://www.webroot.com/washer.htm To order Window Washer 3.0 for only $29.95 visit http://www.webroot.com/order1.htm If you purchased a previous version of Window Washer or Cache and Cookie Washer within the past year, visit http://www.webroot.com/supp1.htm for free upgrade information. ------------------------------------------------------ Also visit http://www.webroot.com/indexb.htm for our recent news and updates page. As you can see, it cleans almost everything one can think of. Netscape and IE have an extra buttons for even more options.
    You can also add a custom files for Windows Washer to clean, with the "Custom Wash Items" option on the right side. TO add an item, click on "ADD" button, choose "Clean File" and click on the "SELECT" button to manually select the item for advanced options. Here, you will get the "select files or folders to be washed" menu. From the menu you can choose ANY item off your C:\ drive, with the subdir, ets. Then all you have to do is clcik on "SAVE" button and you are done!
    Windows Washer has an easy to use interface options, and you can set it to run every quarter, half or hourly, daily, every 8 hors, ets.
    You can get it from webroot.com
    I definetly recommand this program!